Post 167: Lactose Intolerance and Respect in Business pt. 1

I was reading an article by a woman who was talking about a difficult decision she had to make when selling her small company to a much bigger company. As the article is not yet published she has requested people not post names or share her article. So, instead, I will use a metaphor to describe her situation.

Say you’re really hungry and someone offers to make you a grilled cheese sandwich for $2. But you’re lactose intolerant. It’s not made yet, so you tell them that you’re lactose intolerant and ask for just toast still willing to pay $2, but they say no. They says it is a grilled cheese sandwich or nothing. On the one hand, your stomach hurts and you feel tired because you’re hungry. On the other hand, the cheese will make your stomach hurt later and you will be paying $2 for that stomach ache. Either way, there are benefits and consequences.

That’s sort of like the situation she is in. But with much wider scale issues than stomach aches and dairy intolerance. And instead of a request for no cheese, it was a well researched list of 86 concerns and suggestions to make the deal more positive without adding too much work to either party. But the list was totally disregarded. Because they assume they will take the deal either way and by not doing anything they save themselves time. Like in the example, if they’re making grilled cheese in mass and they know they have a room of hungry, lactose intolerant people, some people will cave so why should they go out of their way to make you toast? They will make money without you, you’ll be hungry without them.

She goes on to argue the pros and cons of both, but it wouldn't have gotten that far for me. I would have said no, from the moment they said they wouldn't make toast.

This isn't just a random, imaginary room with lactose intolerant people. This is a medical convention of some kind for people with lactose intolerance and/or studying it to come together, so the majority of people are lactose intolerant. Not everyone is, but most are and these people were invited as a catering company knowing most of the people would be lactose intolerant and they did not come prepared to accommodate them and were unwilling to take their dietary needs into consideration because they would be the only food option at the event (which for the sake of the metaphor, people are not allowed to leave so couldn't get food elsewhere). And now they're saying that everyone at they table has to agree to eating the grilled cheese, despite being lactose intolerant, or they might not bring food for the people at the table who do want the grilled cheese. So, they're relying both on your hunger and that the people around you will pressure you into doing it, because you don't want to be the one person who stops them from eating.

This company knew they were going to be dealing with people who had issues with the process, but have ignored their concerns. Her team went and did research on the concerns and made suggestions supported by that research for how the concerns could be addressed (like I said) and did really what the company should have done in the first place, but the company ignored the list entirely. And while I am not saying they have to take the suggestions, all or any, they should have, at the very least, addressed that her company had concerns. They could have just acknowledged the list or explained why they didn't address the list. But, no. They dismissed it entirely and, with it, all the work her team did on it.

To me, that is a sign of serious disrespect. It shows they don't care what the people they make the deal with think or get out of it, so long as the deal is made. And if there is not mutual respect going into the agreements when the company still wants something, there definitely won't be respect once they get what they want.

Their resources are also far more expansive (as well as their legal team). If the agreement is made and the company suddenly decides to utilize a loophole in the contract that they wrote, her team would not have had the legal power to combat it. And the company itself is already used to dealing with negative press, so would hardly need to worry about her small company saying they did something wrong.

I think, when it comes to business, where there is no respect, there can be no trust. And I would not put my company or team in the hand's of a company I could not trust. Especially when the pros and cons are still up for debate. Her article ends with her saying she made a decision, but not what decision she made. Whatever she has decided has come to fruition at this point, so I could look it up if I really wanted to know.

Or I could just ask her.

But, really, what I took away from her piece was about how differently we came about our decision to make a deal or not. True, I was not in her situation so might be missing some of the details and context she had. However, I think the overall arch of her article showed that she was so focused on her own company's situation and debating her own morals about the pros and cons, that she did not do a thorough enough job of thinking about the other side's position. From reading the article, it sounds like she started and continued in the defensive and never reached equal footing because of it.

And I think the company got away with what they did, because they knew that. The list, while helpful, just showed how eager they were to work with them and how much they would be willing to put up with.

The catering company knows people can't leave the event. Maybe the attendees can try to order food in, but the fact they keep sending back suggestions for toast or bread or just a side, shows that they want to order from the caterers. And will, therefore, likely cave in on the grilled cheese.

For that reason, I think she accepted the deal. She bought the grilled cheese sandwich. I just hope she doesn't end up with a stomach later on because of it. 

Post 166: WYCLF - Criminal Minds

I must admit, I love Criminal Minds. Reid and Garcia are my favorite characters and if you don't think those two together are a powerful force, then feel free to tell me and I will patiently listen, but be prepared for an essay on why you are wrong with many, many examples. Partially because I love them and love to write, but also because it will give me an excuse to re-watch the show. And you best believe I own it on iTunes as well as the DVDs.

Anyway, I have had this post saved in my drafts for awhile because I was waiting for the right message to write about. I have learned a lot of things from the show, like don't use your birthday as a password and most serial killers are white men between 30 and 50, but that is not really what I wanted to share.

The last episode I saw had the perfect message. The perfect lesson to share.

David Rossi was talking to Emily Prentiss. Two other beloved characters, but not quite as close to my hear. They had, had a particularly bad case and after having many people ask if he was okay, he was thoroughly frustrated. And I get it. When you are upset, but trying to keep going and push through people constantly asking if you are okay is just frustrating. It makes it harder to keep it together and if you are trying to convince yourself that all is well, it is even worse.

He and Emily talk and I think it becomes clear to him, that he isn't really okay. But Emily says she won't ask him if he is. Instead, Emily then says she is going to ask him a question, not if he is okay, but who does he trust enough to admit that he isn't okay.

I loved this. When people constantly ask if you are okay, it is like they are insinuating you aren't. It is like a prodding question that can turn a sore spot into a full on bruise. It makes things worse, especially when the person is not someone you want to or can talk to. Instead of suggesting he wasn't okay, instead of trying to get him open up to her. She is straight with him. Her question is saying, I know you are not okay and you need to tell someone, but that person isn't me, so who is it that you can tell you are not okay too.

I liked it a lot because I remember times when I was upset and people were constantly poking and prodding into why and I didn't want to tell them. Sometimes because it was them, sometimes because it was nothing really and I was just emotional and I didn't want to talk about it. And them constantly asking just made me angrier. It also made me feel more detached. It was like having a secret and people constantly asking you tell them, even when they barely knew you.

I like this because while it was saying he wasn't really okay, it was also saying that it was okay if he didn't admit it to her or anyone else except the person he trusted to tell.

Honestly, it was just such a good line and I think really goes to emphasize the closeness of their friendship and her support as his friend and supervisor.

Post 165: Worst Mistake to Make When Applying for Jobs

There are many mistakes that you can make when applying for a job. There is one that is particularly bad because it will stop you from even getting an interview nine times out of ten. What mistake is it? Not having the proper contact information done on your resume.

This is a mistake I have made three separate times in different forms.

The first is not having the correct phone number. Now, jobs will either email or call so having the correct number, but wrong email or vice versa will not always lead to a missed opportunity. However, it will from time to time have the potential employer calling the wrong person or sending out email correspondence in vain. And unless you are very high quality candidate, they will have other people to contact and move on to without trying to contact you other ways. 

I have done this. I got a new cell phone and my number did not carry over. I forgot to change it on my resume for one job, thankfully I caught it after I PDFed it. 

Another mistake is to put an email that you do not often check. I used my University email when I applied for jobs at the university, but when I switched from a student to an alumni they stopped forwarding to my main email. I almost missed an email about coming in for an interview because I don’t often check in as I assume it forwards. I realized that I hadn’t received any notifications that I applied and signed in to check. Thankfully, I didn’t miss anything but junk mail. 

This is the worst mistake because it is the most likely to keep you from getting a job you are qualified for. It is likely shooting yourself in the foot even before the interview happens. So, when applying, make sure your contact information is not only correct, but the ones that you will actually check. 

Post 164: Counterpoint - Flight Plan

The movie has a lot of plot holes. A lot. But the biggest or most commonly picked at one is the end of her searching for witnesses so soon.

The main plot of the movie revolves around the idea that the main character believes her daughter is on the plane and went missing. The pilot calls the morgue and says that he heard from them that her daughter died too. The main character then doesn't bother to call anyone else. Not her daughter's teachers or her neighbors or other family members. No one who could have backed up the fact that her daughter was, in fact, alive. 

This is thought to be a big plot hole in Flight Plan. While it is true that she could have called others, I doubt the pilot would continue to let her call people. No one saw the daughter on the plan. No one remembered her. The pilot is saying she was never on the plan. The pilot is saying that the morgue says the daughter is dead. It isn't like some stranger is saying it. 

Then she continues to act more and more erratically. She clearly didn't seem stable. You can only give in to the demands of someone acting irrationally for so long. Not to mention there were multiple people in on it. So, who knows if they hadn't influenced others in her life. 

She also seems like she had gotten more standoff-ish. She probably withdrew from her friends and family. Also depending on when her husband died, which probably was not far too long before considering she was flying with his coffin on the plane, is a sign it was pretty recent, the daughter may not have returned to school yet.

After a significant death, like the death of a father, kids and students are often encouraged to take time off. So, they also may not have seen her since her dad's death. 

So, it makes sense she didn't start calling other people. She probably didn't have too many people to call. She also was paranoid, quite rightly. And she had no way of knowing who was in on her daughter's disappearance. Maybe they were all involved. Maybe the pilot was involved. Maybe every single person was involved. She had no way of knowing.

So, it was best to go off and do her own thing.

Post 163: A Post from Unfamiliar Territory

I am currently in the Sprott Shaw College student lounge. There are two tables. Two! Which is not nearly enough as they are smaller than your standard dining room table. They are also both full. There is a giant made couch in the shape of an 'L' made of small seats. There are 6 rows with 4 computers each. There is honestly more computers than there is convenient places to sit. Which must explain why there are no "no food or drinks at computers" signs and trash wrappers abandoned on desks. It is fine with me. I have dinner to eat and it is easier sitting at a desk than trying to balance my food on my knee.

The computers seem to require some sort of log-in information, but some of them are also signed in. Which is how I got on to this computer. They seemed to have left a lot of things signed in. But I don't care really so haven't checked. And being that I am already taking advantage of the fact that they forgot to sign out to do my own thing. It seems like it would be wrong to butt into their's. I will sign them out when I am down.

But they should really have more tables. What kind of student lounge cannot accommodate more than two groups of people at a time? I mean, it seems like one of the professors/instructors has actually sent the two groups out to discuss things. So, it isn't even being used as lounge space but as classroom space. That is a little unfair to students that would like to actually use the lounge, as a lounge.

That being said I cannot talk too much considering I am not actually a student here. I am a student at City University, which is their neighbor upstairs. There is actually no lounge space that I saw up there at all. There are a handful of classrooms, but it is lacking space the same way I am lacking a place to put the shrimp tails from my dinner.

It seems so weird eating here. I am trying to keep my food on the window ledge and off the desk. It is weird, in general, not to see any cameras anywhere. SFU had cameras everywhere.

You know, it occurs to me that I have taken classes at five separate Universities, four as a University student. I took classes at Alfred University. I attended University of Victoria, Simon Fraser, University of Copenhagen, and now City University. (Since I didn't previously say, I am now taking classes).

That's kind of weird.

I don't think I took enough classes at really any of them other than SFU to do any sort of real, fair comparison. And I have always found classes to be very dependent on the professor. I loved my Philosophy class when I had it with the professor who put on Beyonce and Lost and made everything relatable and often humorous.  Meanwhile, when I had the professor that put up those old clear sheets on a projector and either read straight from the or from the book, never adding anything or expanding...well, let's just say if the grading had actually required I show knowledge of what we learned in class I would have failed. Thankfully, it was 6 4-page essays where we were given the discussion question relatively early in the year so we could look up anything we needed to know ourselves. And he was hardly a tough grader. I vaguely remember having difficulty coming up with word length for one and spending a page and a half relating the material to Harry Potter.

It is about time to start wandering my way to class now. Ta-ta for now.

Post 162: Navigating the Job Market with an English Degree

It has been some time now since I graduated from University. And I have entered those years where applying for jobs is sort of awkward, because you might have both too much and not enough experience for the jobs you are looking for, assuming you don't just dive into minimum wage retail positions (that even for entry level still often asks for 6 months or even a year of experience). 

I have worked in lots of different jobs, though they probably aren't as diverse as the Job Titles would make them seem. They all boil down to some sort of personable attitude (either with coworkers or customers), tech skills of a basic to moderate level, and daily Spam emails.

I have to say, looking back, I may never have really loved any of them (I mean, obviously or I'd likely still be there) but I don't think I really disliked any of them. It was generally not even that I wholly liked or was ambivalent about any particular job. It was just a varied extravaganza of pros and cons. 

None of which is relevant to today's topic, which is basically "I have an English degree, now what?"

Well, there are lots of ways to go with an English degree, but today's main focus is going to be writing jobs that would be classified as weird or obscure that you might not even know about, like Fortune Cookie Writers. 

Fortune Cookie Writers:

I'm going to be honest, I never really thought about who was writing the messages that turned up in my fortune cookies. There are post generators and content generators galore out there, so I think I always just assumed that is where they came from and that is why they are often random. I think the strangest one that I can recall was something along the lines of "May a bird nest in the tree of your heart" or something like that. It seems very poetic, but also pretty weird to me. 

But it is a job, a writing job, with the potential of being pretty entertaining. 

Website Content Writers:

Do you know who aren't writers? Engineers and scientists. Now, not all of them struggle with writing. But most that I know struggle with writing in a way that is interesting or comprehensible to non-STEM scholars. So, they often pay writers to write or re-write content for them. Technical writers are given reports and help, essentially, translate them into a more everyday level. But, as we further delve into this digital age, more of these non-writing types are starting websites to explain what they do and why. 

For example, these quotes taken from a website about colors and psychology:
"When red is placed on a black background, it glows with an otherworldly fire."
"Could mellow yellow be the color of insanity?"

Now does that say writerly or what?

Ghost Writers:

There are a lot of celebrities out there that have "written" autobiographies. And by that I mean, there are a lot of celebrities that shared their life story with writers who then turned them into autobiographies. But the thing is, ghostwriters get 0 credit. As in nada, zip, nothing. 

By definition, it sounds like plagiarism. Hiring someone to write something, so you can sign your name on it and get the credit? Sounds sketchy. But its actually very common. And if what my one and only ghostwriter friend says is true, it pays better because you are signing away credit. 

Now my lovely dears, it seems as though I have run out of time to keep going. But those three strange but English major appropriate jobs will hopefully at least inspire you to check your options.

Post 161: Story Prompt

This Story Prompt was shared by my friend on Facebook (she's my friend in real life, she just shared it via Facebook):

"Its 3am. An official alert wakes you up. It says 'Do Not Look at the Moon'. You have hundreds of notifications. Hundreds of random numbers are sending, 'Its beautiful tonight. Look outside.' "

And I wrote a short little story blurb on the train in response:

It is almost 3am. My phone is playing part of the Muppets song on repeat. It has fallen between my bed and the wall. Mah Na Mah Na can be heard faintly every few minutes. Is it worth the search? Surely the texts will stop?

But they don’t. I roll over and grope blindly feeling the cold wall against my knuckles. I say a silent prayer along the lines of “dear god, please don’t let a spider crawl out.” Finally I find it and look to see who is dying or is losing a friend.

It isn’t one text, but many. None of the numbers are associated with names. I have a new number. The owner of the old number told no one it wasn’t his number anymore. His car is ready for service.

His friends must be texting him. All the texts are the same, “It’s a beautiful night. Look outside.”

There are so many messages. It must really be beautiful. It is supposed to be a full moon tonight. I put my phone on silent and close my eyes to go back to sleep.

But I can’t. I’m too curious. And all I have to do is get out of bed and open the curtains and I can see for myself if the moon is out and full.

I throw off the covers and get up. I trip over my desk chair on the way before grabbing my phone and putting on the flashlight.

Just as I reach the window I receive an emergency alert: “Do Not Look at the Moon.”

I look up at the window. The last thing I see before darkness overtakes the room is my hand on the curtain illuminated by my phone’s flashlight, it has switched to camera mode. The room is dark. I am going back to bed. I have to be up for work in two hours. It is Monday.

Post 160: En Route - Melanie Martinez, Social Media, and the Law

Recently there have been scandals abounding of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sexual coercion accusations. Most towards men, but not all of these accusations have been directed at men. One famous, or rather infamous, accusation was levied against Melanie Martinez by her long-time friend, Timothy Heller. Heller is accusing Melanie of getting her intoxicated and then performing sexual acts without her expressed consent. 

Now this has been particularly notorious as many fans stick by Melanie, while many people are upset by this as they claim that the men who are being accused are being assumed guilty when they have the same amount of proof. While this isn't exactly true, as many people denied the allegations brought forth against such celebrities as Michael Jackson, Kesha's manager, and LeBron James, it is getting a lot of attention. 

Part of the reason fans of Melanie are disputing the allegations is because of Timothy Heller's social media presence and her use of the scandal to bring herself notoriety. Shortly after accusing Melanie she used her increasing fame to start marketing herself and her concerts to her increased fan base of supporters. Now, maybe they're right, maybe she is using this as an opportunity to gain more fame and publicity. That being said, just because she has made the accusations shouldn't mean that she has to stop living her life as a person and make it all about being a victim. Could she have waited a few days before advertising her concerts? Yes, but should she have to? Why can't she use what she has been through (assuming her accusations are true) to help her? Turn lemon into lemonades, as the saying goes? 

Melanie's usage of social media during this time was far more questionable. She released a statement which basically encapsulated the age old sentiment that many people accused of rape use, "she didn't say no". Now, her statement does expand on their friendship  and a few other points. It was a brief statement, but it does seem to suggest that a)something did happen between the two and b) clear consent was not given. Melanie didn't confirm or deny the accusations that she got her drunk or high.

This was an incredibly poor move by Melanie. There are riots across the nation and in other countries happening with increasing frequency where the message is "only yes means yes". Her friend, Timothy Heller, not saying no was not the same as consenting and she should have known better, both in the situation and in posting her response.

While it is hard to say how many, if any, of these cases will actually be taken to court, especially after so much time has passed for many of them, this case would be difficult to prosecute without blood tests to corroborate Heller's story. And even then, it would be a "she said/she said" situation as Melanie would likely be at same levels of insobriety and could say that it was Heller's idea. 

Just some thoughts for the train ride. Until next time!

Post 159: Musicals

Previously on my blog: "I have seen Fiddler on the Roof and I must say...not the biggest fan. I didn't hate it. But, it is far from my favorite musical, in fact, it is preceded by Cats, Wicked, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia, The Book of Mormon, Rock of Ages, Evita, Grease, Sound of Music, Lion King, and Les Mis, and Flashdance (based off the actual musicals, not the movie versions.)"

This got me thinking about musicals vs. movies. I don't know if I have talked about it before, but I am quite often annoyed by the classification of things as musicals. Now, I understand that the definition is a film/show/play that consists of musical numbers, but I feel like the musical numbers must play a specific role to be classified as a musical. 

Shrek 2 has a musical number where Fairy Godmother sings on a piano, that is the only real musical number where a character sings, but I would not classify the movie as a musical. In the movie, Kinky Boots people perform songs on stage. But they don't just sing. It isn't like High School Musical where people sing rather than talk to people or keep their feelings internal. In Lemonade Mouth, there is not a single song that isn't part of a performance or band practice. 

Kinky Boots and Lemonade Mouth, to me, aren't musicals. Their subject matter happens to be a band or performer, but the songs don't really follow the pattern of other musicals and could be left out without changing the plot. 

Lemonade Mouth could have been declared a band and their performances could have been talked about rather than seen, and it wouldn't effect the plot. Meanwhile, you take out the songs from High School Musical or Evita and their is no plot. I feel like true musicals are almost back-to-back songs, where the songs move the plot along and are narrative devices. 

This is why, while I like Footloose, I don't classify it as a musical. Kevin Bacon goes around dancing, while listening to music and they have a school dance. But at no point does anyone sing, as a plot device or otherwise. Same with Pitch Perfect, they are singers. It isn't like in Grease where it is just accepted that people are going to sing, in Pitch Perfect they have a reason to be singing. 

Step Up has dance competitions, but no one sings randomly. They are performers. They dance in accordance with the plot, not to move the plot. 

If I am on Netflix looking for a musical, I am not looking for something like Pitch Perfect or Footloose or Flashdance (though, an ACTUAL musical version of it was made and it was quite good) I am looking for an ACTUAL musical. Netflix can you do something about your genres please?

Post 158: What do you want to watch?

I can be indecisive. There are moods that I get into where I really feel Buridan's ass paradox. It basically says that a donkey (ass) placed an equal distance from a source of water and a source of food, would die from starvation/thirst as it would not move. It has variants that a person between two identical sources of food would starve because they could not choose which one to eat and their indecision would lead to their death. 

Of course, to a lesser extreme. It comes up when asked, "what do you want to have for dinner?" 

But more often it comes up when I want to clean, cook, work on something, etc. and am looking for a TV show/movie to have on in the background. 

And I often don't know what I want to watch. So, recently I started looking up some quizzes for aid and almost every SINGLE one asked: "what do you feel like watching? Comedy, action, etc." 

IF I KNEW WHAT I FELT LIKE WATCHING I WOULDN'T NEED TO BE LOOKING UP QUIZZES TO GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS! 

What actually usually happens is I settle for some movie and then when the trailers come on, I see a trailer for something I would rather watch (though, 8 times out of 10 I don't actually own the movie I then want to watch). 

I will now take one of those quests, posting the progress with you so you can see what I mean. My thoughts are in red, my answers are in blue.

Question 1: What kind of movie do you feel like watching?

If I knew that I wouldn't be here, would I? 

Answers:

• Comedy 
• Adventure
• Romance
• Action

What about horror? Sci-Fi? Fantasy?

Question 2: Which actress would you love to spend a day with?

This is not helpful AT ALL. There are a lot of actors/actresses that I think would be cool to spend the day with, but not the best actors/actresses or that are in movies I dislike even though they seem like good people. But good actors/actresses in good movies/TV shows that are horrible people in real life. 

Answers:

• Anna Kendrick
• Ellen Page
• Cate Blanchett
• Kate Winslet

Other than Lord of the Rings and Cinderella, I cannot really say I know what Blanchett has been in, but I have heard that she is very nice and funny. Speaking of funny, each question has a picture and the picture for this question is Kristen Stewart, the epitome of my earlier point. I dislike Twilight and wasn't a huge fan of The Cake Eaters, but from interviews and fan commentary, I've heard she is actually a nice person. It is also kind of funny because she isn't one of the possible answers. Kristen Bell, on the other hand, I think is both someone who's work I like and seems like a good person. 

Question 3: Which actor would you rather go on a date with? 

Same issue as with the previous question, with the addition of age differences, sexual preferences, and marriages. 

Answers:

• Jude Law (44)
• Adam DeVine (33)
• Orlando Bloom (40)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (42)

Not really comfortable with any of them as the closest to my age is still 9 years older, but at least I don't think any are married or gay. I chose Bloom, because if nothing else maybe I can get some stories about filming Lord of the Rings with my friends, including one in love with Aragorn. 

Question 4: What is your favorite music genre? 

Maybe useful. Though, like movie genres, I couldn't give my favorite music genre. My preference in music is often less about a specific genre and more about the feeling they evoke or whether they have a good beat. 

Answers:

• Pop
• Jazz
• Soundtrack
• Classical

I actually went with soundtrack, because while I do have a lot of pop songs (more so than jazz or classical), soundtrack is more expansive. It can include other styles: the Rock of Ages soundtrack is very different from the Sound of Music soundtrack which is different from the Trolls soundtrack which is different from the Repo! the Genetic Opera soundtrack. 

Question 5: You and your friends are hanging out on a Friday night. You decide to have a midnight feast. What kind of snack do you have?

It actually is Friday and if I am up at midnight, I am in TROUBLE. I have to be up for work at 5am tomorrow. 

Answers:

• French Fries
• Burgers and Pizza
• Pancakes
• Donuts

After a LOOONG internal debate, I choose pizza. I don't really like any of them. Donuts are sweet and sticky, I'm not really a fan. I don't really like french fries (though, tater tots aren't bad). I REALLY don't like pancakes. Not really a fan of burgers either. Pizza is....eh. I'm not really a huge fan. I don't get excited by the prospect of it, but I don't hate it either. 

Question 6: What is your favorite kind of weather?

Answers:

• Snowy
• Windy and Rainy
• Hot and Sunny
• Sunny and Breezy

Question 7: What is your favorite movie of all time?

Answers:

• Interstellar (2014) Didn't see it. 
• Bridesmaids (2011) HATED IT. 
• It's Complicated (2009) Barely remember it. Think it was funny but forgettable. 
• Lord of the Rings: FotRing (2011) I liked it, but it wasn't even my favorite in the franchise. 

Question 8: You and your friends are hanging out and you decide to watch a TV show. Which show do you watch?

Answers:

• New Girl It's okay. Felt like Jess was sometimes made to be kind of too over-the-top. 
• Sex and the City Never seen it, but sounds like too much drama. 
• Star Trek: Next Gen. Patrick Stewart. 'nough said.
• True Detective Had to watch it for a class, not bad. Super weird, dark, and religious.

So, my options are chick-flick, MEGA chick-flick, old SciFi, or Noir? 

Question 9: What is one of your values?

Answers:

• Romance
• Creativity
• Adventure
• Friendship

All of the above? They're all good values and it isn't even asking for my top value or the highest of those listed. I don't know. Must be time for eeny-meeny-miney-mo.

Question 10: Which singer would you love to see in concert?

I'm not really into concerts, which is weird because I love music. However, there are VERY FEW artists that I love all the music for. In fact, if I look at my iPod right now other than a few artists--like Avril Lavigne (26), Basshunter (38), and Adam Lambert (48)--I have, on average, two songs per artist. 

Answers:

• Lady Gaga
• Mariah Carey
• Adele
• Rihanna

I actually almost went to a Lady Gaga concert, but just a few days before my ear drum ruptured, so for obvious health reasons, I wasn't able to go. I think, though, an Adele concert would be pretty cool to see. 

RESULT:

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" (2013)

I love that it isn't even the first in the trilogy. Honestly, I am far from surprised. A lot of the movies revolved around the Lord of the Rings franchise, so not surprised that this was the result. 

I retook it giving random answers and got The Holiday, a Romance with Jude Law and Winslet. And again, next time I got Inception, an action movie with Di Caprio and Page. The fourth time I got Pitch Perfect, a comedy with DeVine and Anna Kendrick.

This quiz would probably be more helpful if there were more expansive answer options. Or even better representatives of each of these genres. 

Did it help me decide what to watch? No. 

Actually took a second one as well that was more expansive, with probably 10 potential results or more as each question had, at least, ten responses. Though, a lot were either really vague, really similar to another answer, or very obviously connected to a particular movie. In the end, I got Fiddler on the Roof. I have seen Fiddler on the Roof and I must say...not the biggest fan. I didn't hate it. But, it is far from my favorite musical, in fact, it is preceded by Cats, Wicked, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia, The Book of Mormon, Rock of Ages, Evita, Grease, Sound of Music, Lion King, and Les Mis, Into the Woods, and Flashdance (based off the actual musicals, not the movie versions.)

Will I be watching it? No. What will I be watching? I'm feeling like some crime drama but like Law and Order levels of drama, not Cold Case/True Detective levels. I don't feel like watching a soap opera where they happen to be detectives, I want to watch detectives that have are well-rounded, real people.

Post 157: "The Female Point of View" on Stupid Tech

So, I was watching Shark Tank and there was an item that came up called Splikity. Basically, how it worked was that you put all your passwords into the app and then (as far as I can tell) you use the app as a browser and it automatically logs you in. Or, it communicates with the browser app you use, not 100% sure how it works really.

Either way, there were legitimate concerns about the app for security reasons that came up on the show. Like, doesn't this increase the risk of hacking? (Questions that weren't asked: who has access to the information, if it saves the info does that mean developers have access to it, if it is using the industry standard (aka the most common type that will be used and that hackers will be looking at beating) are you looking at working on improving security either by looking for better security options or having specially designed security for the app, how are you competing with the DOZENS of apps that have similar functions that are more secure, etc.)

Anyway, two of the Sharks basically shut them down when Lori chimed in with the "female point of view". That "having an app that is user-friendly would make a woman feel more comfortable" because they're "not as technological".

Now I had a problem with that for a variety of reasons, one being that I thought the app was totally stupid. And I agreed with one of the other Sharks that security is a non-gender issue. If the app isn't secure, users male and female won't be comfortable with it.

The second issue I had is the idea that it required a woman's perspective because of the ease of use. It wasn't the "female perspective" it was the "over 30 and not tech savvy" perspective. I don't want all my passwords to be saved automatically, ESPECIALLY my banking passwords. Do you know who I picture using this product? My mother. My father. My friends' parents. Lots of whom don't lock their phone or use easy codes (ex. 7890) so they don't forget. Which means if any one gets access to their phone, it will be even easier to get their personal information.

That is not secure. That does not even really require a hacker. It is like when people talk about someone hacking into their Facebook when what actually happened is they didn't log out!

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects, in general, are not often associated with women. Women and girls have even pushed away from them through subtle jabs and social expectations. My father is a Mechanical Engineering professor and I've seen first hand how few female students there are compared to male students, how few female professors in these fields there are, and how people react to women when they are on tours.

I think what annoyed me was the fact that it was a woman who was making that comment. She could have said it was her perspective or a less tech-savvy person's perspective, it didn't need to be the "female point of view".